


clean linen

by gabriphales



Series: gomens drabble hell [35]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Menstruation, Pre-Relationship, angels and demons dont understand human bodies as well as they should
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24066130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gabriphales/pseuds/gabriphales
Summary: aziraphale braves a new effort - and falls victim to its unfortunate side effects. crowley does his best to help
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: gomens drabble hell [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1664713
Kudos: 30





	clean linen

**Author's Note:**

> yes my period came today no im not subtle

aziraphale's shaking. aziraphale's shaking, and crowley doesn't know what to do.

he's already laid him down in bed, stuffed a warm, wet cloth over his forehead. it's incredibly awkward, he has to admit, being involved in such _intimate_ happenings of aziraphale's body. they haven't spoken face to face since the day before the flood. and here he is now, shushing aziraphale's nervous babbling, stroking the junction between bone and flesh on his knee. whether that's to soothe himself, or soothe aziraphale, he's not quite sure. nor does he really care.

"i should have known - there's no sense in an _angel_ taking part in something so human. gabriel warned me, you know. he warned me some genital configurations can have troubles - but he never mentioned anything like this. oh, it's my own fault, you shouldn't even be here helping me!" aziraphale rambles, fruitlessly rubbing his cheeks raw in the midst of his efforts to keep his tears hidden - however poorly that might be.

they're already flushed red and irritated, crowley can see. he's tempted to tell him to stop entirely, but he can already feel the words rising angry in his throat, nerves collapsing over self-control. better to not scold him at all than to sound properly irritated. better to not try if he already knows there's possible risk to the outcome.

"you're fine. i've been toying with that sort of thing for years, nothing bad's ever happened to me." he says, praying the bite of his clenched teeth and gritted jaw doesn't come across as anything directed at aziraphale.

"yes, but you're a demon, that's different! it must be a punishment from the almighty, to show that i've been - i've been _unclean._ " aziraphale whines miserably, starting up another round of tears before he's even finished his first batch. crowley's chest burns with it, burns with every half-gasped breath, and weak, stifled whimper aziraphale does his best to cover up as he tries to gather himself. of course, his efforts don't come close to working. he's worked himself into a state - and now he can't come down from it. not even if he tries.

"not unclean, angel. just human." crowley reminds him. "did you even do anything with it?"

"i didn't... i can't tell _you!_ "

"alright, alright. i understand. does anything still hurt?"

aziraphale nods his head, looking sour and shameful. he pouts silently, tucking the linen bedcovers closer to his body.

"do you want me to do anything about that, angel?" crowley asks, because aziraphale can often get a bit odd about unprompted miracles.

"i'm not sure... i mean, i've been thinking about just ditching the whole arrangement entirely, but i'm quite frightened of messing something up, then. and i - i'd never live down getting discorporated over _this._ oh, crowley, it's simply _horrible._ "

and before he knows it, crowley finds himself dragged into aziraphale's open arms. tucked tight within his grip, with aziraphale sobbing balefully against his chest, as if that were remotely commonplace in their friendship. he must be in hysterics if he's _this_ desperate, crowley thinks, always one for underselling himself.

"angel, angel-dear, i can't - you have to sit up, alright? i can't make it better if you're on top of me like this." he explains gently as his shaking voice will allow, slowly peeling himself away. aziraphale looks even worse for wear after his little debacle, refusing now to meet crowley's gaze in any fashion.

"i'm going to miracle you back in shape, okay? and if anything goes wrong, you can tell upstairs you got in trouble with a wiley demon, yeah? was all their fault, nothing to do with you." he says, emphasising the 'wiley' bits with a sprinkling of unnecessary hand gestures, just to hear aziraphale let out that small, sniffly laugh.

"alright... just - do it quickly, please." 

a snap of crowley's fingers is all it takes. the pain in aziraphale's abdomen is gone. all the searing, the _wrenching_ that he'd feared might bring about his death on its own, dissipates into a pleasant warmth. the aftermath of suffering. his legs are cleansed as well, all the dried up blood speckled along his thighs now entirely nonexistent. 

aziraphale calms immeasurably, rubbing his tired eyes clear. they're sore and swollen from overuse, but there's something nice about feeling so vulnerable with someone like crowley - someone that eager to take care of him. it's like he's being cherished. loved.

he hasn't felt that in a very long time.

"well, see - everything seems just fine. nothing to worry your head about, angel. 's perfectly natural." crowley assures him, though he himself is unaware of how natural it actually is. 

"thank you," aziraphale says. "i'm terribly apologetic for reacting in such an - an _undignified_ manner. it won't happen again."

"right. of course. don't stress it." crowley mutters, though he finds with every yearning twitch of his hands. and fumbling beat of his heart, that he'd quite like it if aziraphale were to let _that_ particular instance make a recurrence in the future. the clinging, he means. not the bleeding bits part. though he didn't mind that very much either.

aziraphale dithers over something in his head, picking at the skin of his thumb with dull, pointless nails until he finally announces "i don't want to sleep alone. not yet, if anything might still happen. do you mind... you know?"

and crowley - crowley _happily_ obliges. sleeping out the rest of the evening with an angel cradled to his chest, all thoughts of limitations and polite distance thrown out the window when aziraphale complained of _being cold_ none too subtly. for the shortest amount of time, he can get away with enjoying his chosen company. keeping aziraphale close to heart - holding him where he'll be safest.

it's only what he deserves after such an eventful day, after all.


End file.
